Mnemon
Motivation: Ascend to the Scarlet Throne Aspect: Earth Anima Banner: A swirl of brilliant white crystals erupts from the ground to orbit Mnemon’s. Before her Exaltation, Mnemon was a quiet, insecure slip of a girl, utterly terrified of her mother, the Scarlet Empress, and her brothers, Sesus and Ragara. Her early life was unremarkable, so much so that the Sidereal assigned to monitor her expected the Empress to kill Mnemon for her weakness and timidity. Then came her Exaltation during a sparring match with one of her tutors (secretly a Bronze Faction observer). Mnemon’s Second Breath brought with it not only an understanding of Essence, as normal, but also remarkable insights into sorcery, combat and social politics, as well as seemingly immeasurable reserves of will. In the 400-years since Mnemon has, through singleminded ambition, built her House into one of the Realm’s dominant powers. For most of her life, Mnemon’s built both her House and her power base with the goal of eventually replacing the Empress. She long ago realized her mother would never abdicate, but neither did Mnemon truly desire to supplant her. Taking the long view, Mnemon believed that eventually whatever obscure magic preserved her mother’s youth was bound to fail, at which point Mnemon anticipated being offered the throne by acclimation, as no other candidate had the skills necessary for the job. Consequently, despite her ambition, Mnemon was among the most loyal of the Empress’s children. That loyalty no longer exists. When the Empress disappeared, Mnemon’s peers immediately began jostling for power, but Mnemon’s always known true power comes from knowledge, so she set herself to uncovering what happened to her mother. Not long ago, she discovered the awful truth. That truth’s lent a new urgency to Mnemon’s machinations. She was content before to play a long game. Now, she’s desperate to claim the Scarlet Throne, for only from that seat can she prepare the Realm for what’s to come. The parallels between Mnemon and her mother are apparent to most observers who knew both. Like her mother, Mnemon’s guided by an insatiable ambition and fueled by an irresistible force of will. Like her mother, Mnemon’s supernally skilled at sorcery, combat and politics. Mnemon has even demonstrated signs of her mother’s unusual longevity. Perhaps the biggest difference between the two lies in their attitudes toward the Immaculate Order. To the Empress, the Order was simply another tool in her arsenal. Having been privy to the foundation of the modern Immaculate Philosophy, the Empress had no illusions about its theological accuracy and was content to value it solely as a means of exercising social control. Lacking such insights, Mnemon was raised as a true believer. She strongly supports the Immaculate Order in all things, and only the Heptagram draws more students from House Mnemon than the Cloister of Wisdom. That said, while Mnemon’s faith is genuine, it’s not without pragmatism. She’s well aware of the extent to which the Iselsi have insinuated themselves into the upper echelons of the Order. If she became Empress, rooting them out would become one of her primary objectives. More importantly, she’s been aware of the existence of the Sidereal Exalted from an early age and the role they play in manipulating both the Order and the Realm behind the scenes. She also knows that her mother was privy to the Sidereal secret, so Mnemon accepts the necessity of their role in the Realm’s maintenance. Of course, not even Mnemon knows the full scope of Sidereal involvement in Realm politics, and Chejop Kejak’s chief objection to her ascension to the throne lies in the fact that he’d have to reveal more of Sidereal politics to her than to a less informed claimant.